Pages

Friday, July 30, 2010

Rain, Raspberries, and Other Remarkable Happenings

There are few things as exciting in high desert weather-wise as rain. Surprisingly, we have been getting more than our usual share of precipitation this summer, and that alone is making my life much more pleasant. Sitting outside on the bench, enjoying the lightning show, or venturing outdoors into mud-luscious and puddle-ful world, and letting rain plant kisses on your head, then, falling asleep to the tranquil pitter-patter of the rain's lullaby, those are the things I look forward to most come summer. Plus, they are such a rarity and guilty indulgence on our side of the world, it is almost impossible not to enjoy it. And the whole getting wet thing? Well, that's why they invented rain jackets.

In the midst of this wonderful wetness, we took a break for the mountains. It came down the grapevine that the wild raspberries are here, and we didn't want to miss it.

Although smaller than their "domesticated" counterparts, they reward you with extraordinary flavor, sour and tangy. Every red morsel explodes in your mouth into a celebration of sunshine, rain, and all things summer. And if you can pluck up enough patience to gather a handful, and then throw it in, mmmm... that's like a whole crazy fiesta with flavors dancing and singing, and just being loud, staying up long after the show ended.

Even more exciting than spotting a raspberry bush heavy with the burden of summer is seeing your little one look for them,

then spot a big one, and with a glee and "yummy" sounds enjoy the treat.

Of course, some of us got into some cow poop that was lying around. Some of us fell into puddles, and got just plain unreasonably dirty. We won't point fingers, though; the trip was quite remarkable, and I've got a set of scraped legs to show for it (why WOULD you wear long pants on a raspberry gathering adventure?).

The clouds have since retreated, and we are again hiding from all-consuming summer heat, patiently awaiting another downpour. The rain jackets are dry for a change. We, however, just might take another trip to the wild. Those gooseberries looked like they are about ready, and I hear they are quite a treat as well.